


Before I Walk Through The Door

by bbbeautifulboy



Series: Fix Me Up, My Darling [2]
Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, BAMF Vanya Hargreeves, Ben Hargreeves Lives, Ben Hargreeves' Tentacles | Bentacles, Disabled Character, Gen, Luther Hargreeves Needs A Hug, On the Run, young hargreeves
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-10
Updated: 2021-02-10
Packaged: 2021-03-16 00:15:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,074
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29323047
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bbbeautifulboy/pseuds/bbbeautifulboy
Summary: Months after Ben is almost killed, Diego, Klaus and Ben enact their plan to run away from the academy.As with most plans, unexpected factors pop up.
Relationships: Ben Hargreeves & Diego Hargreeves, Ben Hargreeves & Diego Hargreeves & Klaus Hargreeves, Ben Hargreeves & Klaus Hargreeves, Ben Hargreeves & Luther Hargreeves, Ben Hargreeves & Vanya Hargreeves, Diego Hargreeves & Klaus Hargreeves, Diego Hargreeves & Luther Hargreeves, Vanya Hargreeves & Everyone
Series: Fix Me Up, My Darling [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2150481
Comments: 8
Kudos: 59





	Before I Walk Through The Door

“Watch it--” Diego hisses, a millisecond too late-- Klaus’s hip knocks into the table in the entryway, causing the ornate vase perched on top teeter precariously for another overlong second, before toppling over the side. 

Before Diego can react (he wouldn’t have been able to dive across the hall in time to catch it anyway) something darts past him, lightning fast, and catches the vase just before it touches down. Ben’s tentacle replaces the vase on the table, and the three of them-- Diego, Ben, and Klaus-- release their held breaths in tandem. Ben shoots Klaus a glare as the tentacle retreats beneath his shirt, opening his mouth, no doubt to chastise him-- and though Diego is longing to do the same, he waves a hand with a nervous glance back up the dark stairway.

“Let’s go,” he mouths, eyes darting from Ben to Klaus, who both appear to recall the task at hand. As though they could forget; Diego prides himself on having a pretty good handle over nerves, but he couldn’t say the same for right now; tiny jolts of energy keep on shooting through his veins every time a floorboard creaks or he thinks he hears a light switch click on upstairs.

They’re almost out.

He motions forward, and Klaus tiptoes to the door, Ben wheeling after him in his chair. Diego’s gotta hand it to Ben, he’s only been using a wheelchair to get around for what, a couple months now? But so far he’s made less noise maneuvering through the house for their grand escape than Klaus, who hadn’t recently been severely injured. Though Diego figures, Ben didn’t have much of a choice but to adapt quickly. Not with the plan the three of them had been hatching for months. 

When Klaus and Ben invited Diego to leave the academy with them for good, Diego had only one condition: they leave before they turn eighteen. Hargreeves had given them permission to move out if they were so pleased on their eighteenth birthday, but the thought of Hargreeves giving them permission to leave, as if they’d merely been his pets for eighteen years who he was now setting free, made Diego’s blood boil. Leaving a month prior to their eighteenth birthday was a small rebellion, but enough to tide him over; at least it would severely fuck up Hargreeves’ press-conference agenda. 

Diego hikes his backpack further up on his shoulder, checking the upper corners of the room one last time for cameras. Good thing Hargreeves had lost interest in watching them sleep years ago. 

Stepping out the front door into the cool night air is rejuvenating, like splashing cold water on your face in the morning; it’s the same air he grew up breathing, tangy and heavy with the scent of car exhaust and the city, but it tastes different now all the same.

Klaus is standing on the sidewalk, grinning from ear to ear. Ben is staring up at the house, appearing to be checking every window. Diego turns his back to them, raising both middle fingers at the academy.

They’ve nearly reached the street corner when they hear a voice behind them that makes them freeze. “Leaving without saying goodbye?”

Diego wants to keep walking, but Ben rolls to a halt and Klaus spins around, arms spread wide like he’s going to walk to Luther for a hug. “As long as you don’t tattle,” Four says gleefully.

Luther stands in the middle of the sidewalk, not closing the distance between them. Passerby part on either side of their diamond-shaped formation. Diego clenches his hands into fists, growing more antsy the longer they linger on the academy’s block. 

“I can’t believe you three. You couldn’t wait another month?” Luther’s tone and expression are hard. “Do you even have a plan?”

“Like we’d tell you,  _ One _ .” Diego replies cooly. “Klaus’s right, you’d g-go running to Hargreeves the second you knew to spill the whole thing. Lack of trust is all the good little soldier act got you, in the end.” 

“Diego, don’t start a fight…” Ben murmurs at his side. 

If Luther was at all perturbed by Diego’s slight, he doesn’t show it. “I’m just looking out for you, you know. You’re my brothers. Family. Allison’s leaving on our birthday, if you just--”

“Just what?” Diego laughs humorlessly.

“Here we go,” Klaus sighs, turning to wander the street corner.

“No, really Luther. What difference will it make, besides feeding into Hargreeves’ madman-need to control us? It’s not like he’d give us a penny of support either way, and even if he did I don’t want his help. I don’t want anything to do with him.” 

“Don’t you think that’s a bit hypocritical, considering the money you stole from him?” Luther frowns.

Diego sets his jaw. “He didn’t give us that. Hell, he won’t even miss it.” Diego’s eyes flicker up to Hargreeves’ mansion.

“Doesn’t make it right.” Luther takes a step towards them. Diego discreetly slides the small knife hidden up his sleeve into his palm, getting a grip on the handle. “Just… give the money, let me return it, and I’ll let you go.”

“As if you could stop us,” Diego grits out.

“I think you know I can,” Luther begins to walk forward, and Diego raises the hand holding the knife--

And is stopped by Ben’s sudden grip on his wrist. “Diego,” he says seriously. “ _ Don’t _ .”

Luther’s eyes zero in on the knife. Finally, something like hurt flashes across his stony features.

“What are you doing?” Diego snaps at Ben.

Ben keeps an iron grip on Diego’s wrist, and Diego watches as he digs around his backpack one-handedly, pulling out the envelope containing all their money. He holds it close to his chest for a moment, locking eyes with Luther. “You could come with us.”

“You know I can’t,” Luther says.

“Yes, you  _ can _ ,” Ben insists. “You can come with us, and have a real life for once, and stop letting Dad convince you there’s anything worth staying for. You’re worth more than that, Luther.”

“I don’t have a choice.”

“You’re getting one right now,” Diego says. 

“I’ve only ever had one choice, and I committed to it a long time ago!” Luther shouts. 

A moment of silence follows, in which Luther comes forward and takes the money from Ben with no fanfare. Ben lets him. He gives Ben a hard look, then Klaus behind them, who pays him no mind, clearing out staring passerby (“Move along folks, despite the theatrics this is not a show!”) before moving on to Diego. Up close, Diego can see Luther’s jaw trembling slightly.

“Take care of each other,” he finally mutters, tearing his gaze away and his back to them as he walks away, being swallowed up by the shadows of the academy. 

“See you around, big bro!” Klaus calls. 

The three of them cross the street and continue putting distance between themselves and the academy in silence, if you don’t count Klaus merrily humming some pop tune.

“W-why’d you d-do that?” Diego eventually asks Ben, keeping his gaze straight ahead. “You know we’re screwed now, right?”

“You would have regretted hurting him,” Ben says. “Face it, you’re mad at Dad, not Luther. Luther got just as fucked over as the rest of us. If anything, he’s got it worse. He still thinks it’s real.”

They drop the conversation there, mainly because Diego has too much on his mind and doesn’t feel much like talking anymore. 

They walk for fifteen minutes before arriving at the bus stop. The only other people there at midnight are a man in a business suit reading a newspaper and a young couple who appear to be eating each other’s faces off, all too busy to notice their arrival. Diego is grateful for that; three teenagers laden with duffel bags and backpacks roaming the city at this hour have already attracted enough odd stares. Thank god Patch lent them her brother’s clothes so they weren’t wearing those godforsaken school uniforms on top of it all. 

“Either of you got any extra cash?” Diego asks.

“Shit, I gave Luther our bus fare.” Ben bites his lip. 

“You gave Luther our everything-fare.”

“Shit,” Ben says again. 

They both turn to Klaus, who raises an eyebrow.

“Got anything that we can sell?” Diego asks. “Y-you know, something that’ll sell… quickly?”

“Nothing that’s not off-limits.” Klaus pats Diego’s head and Diego shoves his hand away. “Sorry dears.”

“Well, we’re stuck here without money…” Diego grumbles.

“Hey, don’t get mad at me because I won’t sell  _ my  _ drugs for the money  _ Ben  _ lost.” 

“Only because Diego was gonna stab Luther and make us all pay for it. I’m not sorry,” Ben states. “And it’s not like I can sell my toothbrush,” he shrugs. 

“Then yippee, we’re stuck.”

“‘Scuse me boys, I couldn’t help but overhear…” The middle-aged man from the bus stop is approaching them. “Are you kids alright?”

“Fine--” Diego starts to say, but is interrupted by Klaus.

“Gosh, sir,” Klaus shakes his head, feigning emotion. “I… I can’t remember the last time anyone asked us that.” He puts a hand on Ben’s shoulder and throws an arm around Diego. “We’re orphans, you see. The orphanage sent us out for poor Benny’s doctor’s appointment, but didn’t give us enough money to get back, probably trying to get rid of us, you know how overrun orphanages are these days…” He sighs sadly. 

The man's eyes narrow with pity on Ben in his wheelchair.

“He hasn’t got much time left,” Klaus adds, jostling Ben’s shoulder. 

“Uh… yeah…” Ben says unsurely, looking up at Klaus. “Feel bad for me… please?”

“That’s… that’s horrible,” The man says, eyes wide. He takes out his wallet, pulling out a wad of cash and coming forward, pressing it into Diego’s hand. “Please, use this to get home.”

“Oh, sir, we couldn’t possibly--” Klaus starts, but the man waves a hand, cutting him off. 

“I insist. It’s the least I can do,” the man says, before walking back to the bench, muttering “Poor kids…”

“And, scene.” Klaus grins at Diego and Ben.

“This’ll cover our bus fare and we’ll still have some left over,” Diego says, shifting through the dollar bills in his hand. “Nicely done, Four. Even if you did flat out lie to the guy…”

“And use me as a prop,” Ben deadpans.

“Oh, hush and appreciate the fact that I just saved our asses,” Klaus chirps. “We all know the real story is just as tragic, the version I told was just less likely to make him call CPS.”

Once they’re on the bus, the doors are just about to slide shut someone outside squeaks, “Wait!”

Klaus, Diego and Ben’s heads all jerk up as a small figure clambers onto the bus, apologizing profusely to the disgruntled bus driver. “Vanya?!”

Vanya has a duffel bag slung over her shoulder and she’s clinging to her violin case for dear life. Her straight bangs are windswept, her whole face flushed, like she’d just run a great distance. She collapses into the bench opposite Diego, doubled over and gasping while the three of them pummel her with questions.

“Did-did you  _ run _ here?” Diego gapes.

“I thought you said you weren't coming!” Ben’s beaming.

“Look at that, little Number Seven’s got some rebellion in her after all!” Klaus reaches over the back of Vanya’s seat, ruffling her hair.

Vanya finally catches her breath as the bus lurches into movement. “I wasn’t planning to… until I heard you three sneaking out… and realized… it was now or never.” She smiles shyly.

“So you… what, threw your stuff into a bag and followed us on impulse?” Diego asks, furrowing his brow. “How’d you get out?”

“Well… Dad caught me,” Vanya winces. “Turns out he didn’t care much about  _ me  _ leaving, but he made Luther confirm that you guys were still in bed.”

“He  _ what _ .”

“Don’t worry, Luther covered for you!” Vanya says quickly. 

Diego shares a look with Ben. 

“So… then what?” Klaus asks hesitantly. 

“Well, Dad wished me luck on my future prospects, and that I needn’t ever associate myself with the academy again.” Vanya pulls her medication out of her hoodie pocket, shaking out a pill and popping it into her mouth as normally as one would brush hair out of their eyes. “So I told him to go fuck himself and left. Where’s this bus taking us, anyway?”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! 
> 
> This is part 2 of my "Fix Me Up, My Darling" series.
> 
> Stick around for more parts!
> 
> I adore feedback <3


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